IgA Anti-β2-Glycoprotein I Antibodies as Markers of Thrombosis and Severity in COVID-19 Patients.

Patients with COVID-19 may develop a hypercoagulable state due to tissue and endothelial injury, produced by an unbalanced immune response. Therefore, an increased number of thromboembolic events has been reported in these patients. The aim of this study is to investigate the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) in COVID-19 patients, their role in the development of thrombosis and their relationship with the severity of the disease.

Systemic Autoimmune Diseases in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19 in Spain: A Nation-Wide Registry Study.

We aimed to evaluate the clinical outcome of Systemic Autoimmune Diseases (SADs) patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Spain, before the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. A nationwide, retrospective and observational analysis of the patients admitted during 2020, based on the ICD10 codes in the National Registry of Hospital Discharges, was performed. Among 117,694 patients, only 892 (0.

Usefulness of the hemogram as a measure of clinical and serological activity in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Background And Objectives: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) follow-up is based on clinical, and analytical parameters. We aimed to determine the differences between the Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) between SLE patients and healthy controls and to assess their association with anemia status, classical inflammatory biomarkers and cytokines, disease activity, SLE related factors and treatment received for SLE.

Methods: Seventy-seven patients with SLE according to 2012 SLICC criteria and 80 healthy controls were included.

Impact of cardiovascular risk factors in antiphospholipid syndrome: an observational study from the Spanish national registry.

Objectives: To determine the burden and impact of cardiovascular risk factors (CRF) in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) patients.

Methods: Analysis of the patients diagnosed with APS identified in the Spanish Hospital Discharge Database between 2016 and 2017. We analysed the admissions due to arterial (ATE) and venous thromboembolic events (VTE) and evaluated the incidence and the attributed risk of each CRF.

[Updated review of Clostridium difficile infection in elderly].

Clostridium difficile infection is the most common cause of health care-associated diarrhoea, and its incidence increases with age. Clinical challenges, risk of resistance to treatment, risk of recurrence, and treatment responses are different in elderly. The aim of this review is to discuss the updated epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and therapeutic management of C.

Calcium and vitamin D supplement intake may increase arterial stiffness in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

Objectives: Low serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) have been associated with a higher frequency of risk factors and cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association of 25(OH)D, cardiovascular risk factors, and subclinical atherosclerosis in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.

Method: Forty-seven female SLE patients were studied.

Serum cystatin C is associated with kidney function but not with cardiovascular risk factors or subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Cystatin C (CysC) is a protein considered as an excellent marker of renal function, and it has been suggested as an independent predictor of cardiovascular (CV) risk. We evaluated the association of serum CysC with renal function, CV risk factors, inflammation, and subclinical atherosclerosis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients. Sixty-one SLE female patients were selected according to estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) > 60 ml/min/1.

Short-term atorvastatin therapy improves arterial stiffness of middle-aged systemic lupus erythematosus patients with pathological pulse wave velocity.

Objectives Statins have been proposed as a potential treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) due to their immunomodulatory properties, their role restoring endothelial function and preventing atherosclerosis. We evaluate the effect of a short period treatment with a low dose of atorvastatin and its withdrawal on early stage subclinical atherosclerosis. Methods Thirty-seven SLE females received 20 mg/day atorvastatin during eight weeks.

Genotypic distribution of common variants of endosomal toll like receptors in healthy Spanish women. A comparative study with other populations.

Genetic variants of endosomal toll like receptors (TLR) have been associated with many infectious, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, but few studies have been reported in the Spanish population. The aim of this study was to describe the allelic and genotypic distributions of some common nucleotide substitutions of endosomal TLRs in healthy Spanish women and to compare them with those already published in other population groups. Nine substitutions were analysed in 150 DNA samples from 150 Spanish, non-related healthy females: TLR3 rs3775291 and rs5743305; TLR7 rs179008 and rs5743781; TLR8 rs3764880 and TLR9 rs187084, rs5743836, rs352139 and rs352140.

Metabolic syndrome is associated with decreased circulating endothelial progenitor cells and increased arterial stiffness in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is highly prevalent in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and it has been associated with increased cardiovascular risk. We examined the contribution of MetS to inflammatory markers, arterial stiffness and circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) as surrogates of subclinical atherosclerosis.

Methods: Cardiovascular risk factors, SLE-specific factors and peripheral blood EPCs were assessed in 50 female SLE patients.

Increased arterial stiffness is independently associated with metabolic syndrome and damage index in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

Objectives: We evaluated whether traditional or non-traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-related risk factors were associated with pathological arterial stiffness measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV) adjusted for patients' age and blood pressure.

Method: CV risk factors were measured in the 46 SLE female patients studied. Activity and organ damage were assessed by the SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) and the Systemic Lupus International Collaborative Clinics/American College of Rheumatology (SLICC/ACR) Damage Index, respectively.

Monocytes and T lymphocytes contribute to a predominance of interleukin 6 and interleukin 10 in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: To investigate the contribution of T lymphocytes and monocytes to cytokine production in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: Forty-five SLE patients and 19 healthy volunteers were included. Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), interferon gamma (IFN gamma), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL10 were quantified by ELISA.

Common variable immunodeficiency in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: The development of common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) or hypogammaglobulinemia in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is rare. The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed review of lupus-associated CVID and to identify clinical characteristics and laboratory features in patients with SLE-associated CVID.

Methods: We describe 2 patients with SLE and CVID and review the cases published in the English literature highlighting both the demographic and the clinical characteristics and the laboratory and therapeutic aspects of this disorder.

Prognostic value of neutrophils and NK cells in bronchoalveolar lavage of sarcoidosis.

Background: Not all the patients with sarcoidosis need pharmacological therapy, and the decision to start therapy is based mainly on clinical conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of the leukocyte and lymphocyte subpopulations in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from these patients.

Methods: Thirty-three nonsmoking patients with sarcoidosis were included and classified based on the presence of Löfgren's syndrome (n = 11), the radiological stage (12 at Stage I, 17 at Stage II, and 4 at Stage III), and their follow-up.